Creating an Internet Lifestyle Business What I Did and What You Can Do

How do you start a profitable online business? Everybody wants to be online and everyone wants to have a business. But there are a few things you need to do before you get on that path. Knowing what you’re doing is a big part of you ending up where you want to be. From 2009 until recently, I had an internet lifestyle business.

I put out information products and webinars. It was just me pretty much having fun. Then one day, I decided to take this up a little.

I had 100% passive income from my first book for about 2 and a half years and then it just went boom, and it was over. When I wrote this book, I had no intention of creating a business. It was about me wanting to be a writer. I knew that people were having issues with storage auctions. I was like, I’ll write this and then I’ll get “the real book deal.”

The whole deal is that first book started a lifestyle online business which is what you see all over the place. You’re on the beach enjoying the laptop lifestyle. That’s really hard. For every person that is truly living the laptop lifestyle, you probably have 100,000 struggling. That’s just reality.

To start a real online business, it’s got to be structured differently. How you start is how you will end. As you’re building the online business, you have to have the end in mind. That is very important. Do you want to sell it at some point? Do you want to give it to your kids?

Let’s say you want to bring in investors. If you do, then you have to setup your business as a C-corp immediately. Knowing how you want to end is critical in how you setup your business.

When you’re putting your business together, you have four categories. You have a traditional business that’s using an online presence. An example of that would be a restaurant where you have a physical location, but you have a website for promotion purposes.

What I have now is a completely online business. Once you decide you want to be 100% online, that pushes a lot of businesses off the plate. With a restaurant, unless they’ve been there before, they are probably not going to order something online unless it has a lot of great reviews. In the future, there may be restaurants that you never step foot in, that are 100% online.

You have to decide what kind of business you want. I’ll tell you about my feelings and how I decided. The fact is I hate traffic. I really hate working with crazy people. So, this online business works for me. This might be miserable for someone else.

Some people may want to be on the stage giving presentations. They may like to travel and think that is an exciting lifestyle. If that’s the case, then build that into your business choice.

The big problem a lot of people have is that they don’t know what to do. They want to have an internet business. They know they want to leave their job. They know they want more money.

When you first start your business, this notion that you’re going to have more time for your family is bullshit. When you start your business, you’re going to have less time for family. Be really clear on that.

You’re not going to be able to start this part-time business and get this full-time income. I know people are telling you that it is possible. I’m here to tell you, no it’s not. It’s a unicorn. It’s Big Foot. You hear about it, but you never see it.

When you start a business you’re the CEO. You’re the clerk. You’re the receptionist. You are the call center. You’re everything. For this reason, you have to be sure you can handle doing the type of work required for the business you decide to start. For example, if you want to start a snow plow business and you hate the cold, then that business doesn’t make sense for you. Even though in the future you might be able to hire other people to plow the snow, in the beginning you will definitely be doing some cold work yourself.

If you’re young, do it now. It is less stressful to start a business before you go out and get into a mortgage or big car payment. The less debt you have to worry about when you start a business, the better. It will be less stressful. If you’re 16, 17, 19, 20 – start your business now while you’re living with your parents, if possible.

You have to decide what kind of business you’re going to start. Then you have to decide what level of commitment you can make. This is probably one of the number one reasons businesses don’t make it. It’s a lack of commitment, not a lack of customers or cash.

When you are not making a lot of money in the beginning and you are working very hard, it can be difficult to stick with it. But, you must recognize this stage as a test that will be worked through eventually as you learn how to establish systems and move your business to the next level. A lack of commitment often comes from a lack of results and research.

My main goal is freedom, so if my businesses allow me to be free, then I’m “on purpose.” Then I’m doing what I want to do. I don’t care what the vehicle that gets me there looks like.

You have to decide what is your singular purpose. This will help you decide on a type of business. Say you’re a vegan. Then why would you have a steakhouse. You see people start businesses that conflict with their inner goals and philosophy. It happens quite a bit.

The next thing you have to have is research. You have to continue to educate yourself and do research. Let’s say you want to be a landscaper. If you do, there are videos about landscaping you can watch where they discuss different landscaping techniques and challenges. You should watch them. It’s not about the information. It’s about what you do with it.

This is the problem some people have. They are so anxious to get to the endpoint that they don’t take the time to put the process in place to get to the endpoint. After doing research, you need to apply what you learn. For example, when you listen to an audio book, you should immediately apply any actionable things you learn to your business. Listen and do. Listen and do.

When I listen to a good audio book, I will listen to it three to five times. Each time I listen to it, I have a different take on it. Now, this is a huge investment in time. A short audio book is five to six hours.

People feel like they don’t have the time necessary to learn the things they need to learn. But, you must make the time. That is a crucial component of business success.

To be successful, you must take each step seriously. You have to figure out what business you want. You have to make a commitment. You have to become a research ninja. The fourth thing you must commit to is self-education and personal development.

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